Stop signs to be placed on W. Cedar Street in Standish

STANDISH — The Standish City Council voted unanimously to place stop signs on West Cedar Street and South Cass Street in Standish.

The decision was made at the council’s regular meeting on Thursday, Aug. 18. The signs will be added to the eastbound and westbound lanes of West Cedar Street, making the intersection a four-way stop. The signs are expected to be posted sometime in the next week.

Mayor Pro-Tem Jerry Nelson said he is pleased with the council’s decision.

“I feel relieved,” he said. “This is being done to protect our kids and make everyone safer.”

The council’s main concern was the safety of children crossing West Cedar Street and South Cass Street before and after school hours. Council member Doug Ireland said he believes drivers will run the stop signs without proper notification.

“Stop signs alone will not help the situation right away,” he warned the council during the meeting. “We need something to let people know the signs are there.”

Nelson said the city will place a temporary sign in the middle of the intersection to warn people about the new signage.

“If it is in the middle of the street, people will be more apt to see it,” he said. “We will leave the sign there for a while until people get use to having the signs there.”

According to Standish Clerk-Treasurer the signs were already in the city’s possession and will be placed by the Department of Public Works.

Nelson, who bought the issue before the council in July, said he has seen approximately 20 incidents at the intersection since he has lived there.

“I am in the same mindset I have always been in with this issue,” he told the council. “We need something in this area. It’s not ‘if’ something happens, it’s ‘when.’”

Nelson said the city chose the quick and efficient option.

“This is something that we got done right now,” he said. “This was our most economical choice.”

Nelson said adding a stoplight to the intersection was too costly for the city at this time.

“To add a stoplight, it would cost us between $6,000 and $10,000,” he said. “That is something we do not have in our budget right now.”

Although the city does not currently have the funds for a stoplight at the intersection, Nelson said the council has not discarded the idea, and will look at grant opportunities.

“We need to continue to look for grant money,” he said. “Maybe we could have the light flash from 3 p.m. until 4 p.m. on school days to help kids cross the street.”

Nelson said he is just happy something is being done.

“I did not want us to sit on our hands for a year and have something happen,” he said.